15 year old with special needs & the junior cert

modmo

I have a 15 year old boy with Aspergers & ADD & ODD & Dyspraxia.
He is a great kid and has a relatively "normal" life in most things (sport, friends,gaming etc).
The problem is with school work. He has always struggled with school work and is not acedemic at all. When he was in primary he had a special needs assistant with him for 3 years and towards the end of the 3 years he hated it because it made him feel different. He also hated been taken out of the class for resource. Anything like this that was there to help him he saw it as a negatative thing because it made him feel different
Since secondary school he resource time of 5 hours a week which they use team teaching so its not so obvious. The school have been great and are trying to help us with the best way forward in order to help him. They have suggested that he avails of their Autism unit within the school which he was totally against because in this words he's "afraid of getting slagged". I can understand him because there is a stigma attached. He is mildly affected with Apergers and is not so obvious as some other AS kids are.
We agreed with the school that he could drop some subjects and he is allowed to sit in the class on the subjects he has dropped and do homework etc from other classes.
I worried because he will not accept any other kind of help (even the suggestion of grinds) that he wont do very well in his Junior Cert and this could have a devastating effect of him. He already telling me he's going to fail it and its like he's given up already.
The next worry is we think he will probably leave school after the Junior Cert. He wouldnt be able for the Leaving Cert or even the Leaving Cert applied.
So what's next a child who has special needs and maybe no qualifications?
I dont mean to sound so negatative about my son, I just worried for his future. As I said at the start, he's a great kid and has lots of wonderful qualities and we love him very much and only want the best for him. Any advice please?

Moonbeam

That is not an easy one.The school sound great and I can understand that he just wants to be "normal".
I think you need to sit down with the school and also seperately with him after and discuss it.
FInd out all his options for after the JC,maybe a fetac course or apprenceship and discuss it all with him.

Lucyfur

I *think* any child diagnosed with AS only has to do 5-6 subjects for exams. It came up in conversation in a group recently but I was in the middle of another conversation and didn't hear all that was being said.

Has he been exempt from languages? This is my lads first year not doing Irish and homework time is much more pleasant:pac:

Agree with Moonbeam, definitely check out FETAC course options for him. Have you a local youth reach? They do great courses for kids with difficulties..

EDIT; They need 5 subjects to pass the leaving...I don't know if that's a help to him...It's a weight off my mind for when my lad is in secondary

will.i.am

Hi!
Maybe he could focus on his favorite 2 or 3 subjects the most. Does he like any subjects? This will take the work load of a load for him and then for subject such as Maths, English, Irish he could try foundation level and this would take the work load off a lot for him.

modmo

Thanks to the advice so far. My son has dropped French, History, Geography & Business. His favourite subject is metalwork, so maybe we should steer him towards an apprenticeship. I will check out both Youth Reach & Fetac courses. Thanks again for your advice.

Lucyfur

He should have an exemption from Irish too. Definitely steer him towards what he enjoys doing. Hopefully it'll make school a bit easier for him:)

spurious

If his school offer it, he could have the JCSP alongside the JC and get statements for all the achievements and skills he has that are not assessed in the exam system.

2218219

del

meoklmrk91

Hi there,

Not a parent but said I would throw in a little info regarding youthreach as I am a former student, I graduated in 2011. Youthreach centres have a terribly bad name, and in my experience it is completely unwarranted, they are not just for scumbags in training. What iearned is that there are people there from all walks of life, everyone is there for a reason, whatever it may be.

It seems your sons biggest difficulties are that he does not want to be different and he lacks confidence in his school work. Youthreach sounds like it could be a good fit for him because firstly everybody in my school had different reasons why they were there some had learning difficulties, some had like myself left school for various reasons, some had been thrown out, in my school no one judged you were there and that was it, we had a full time councillor and no one batted an eye lid if someone was going to see her as atleast half the school was.

Secondly, LCA if done correctly is an exceptional way to build confidence, you are exposed to so much and you don't even realise it, it prepares you brilliantly for working and for college, I am now in heading into my second year in college and I remember when we got our first assignment all of my LC peers looked completely baffled, where as I had already done 7-8 of these over 2 years. Personally having seen how LCA is implemented in mainstream schools, it is basically an afterthought, I would recommend that everyone go and do it at a Youthreach centre, that way you will not be treated as a second class student.

In short, most people don't regard youthreachs or LCA in very high esteem, but personally I think that is just their own misinformed opinion and if they saw a well run centre they would see the benefits of both. Just this week I went to visit my old teachers, I am very fond of them all, the support system that they have in place is truly second to none IMHO, they are excellent at finding each students strong suit and really helping them to reach their full potential regardless of what hurdles they have to overcome, these are students who would have fallen through the cracks in a mainstream school and would have had a very bleak future, I know I used to be one.

Just something for you consider, I really hope that you find what is best for your son.

Morag

Lucyfur wrote: »

I *think* any child diagnosed with AS only has to do 5-6 subjects for exams.

That depends on the child, mine is doing the same as his classmates.

echo beach

meoklmrk91 wrote: »

Secondly, LCA if done correctly is an exceptional way to build confidence, you are exposed to so much and you don't even realise it, it prepares you brilliantly for working and for college, I am now in heading into my second year in college and I remember when we got our first assignment all of my LC peers looked completely baffled, where as I had already done 7-8 of these over 2 years. Personally having seen how LCA is implemented in mainstream schools, it is basically an afterthought, I would recommend that everyone go and do it at a Youthreach centre, that way you will not be treated as a second class student

I'm glad LCA was such a success for you but please don't write off all the mainstream schools who offer it. Some of them may well treat it as 'second class' but others don't. They offer it as an equal choice and it is ideal for student who don't learn well in the 'conventional' manner. I know students who sat it in mainstream schools with equally good outcomes, so it is a matter of checking out the school

meoklmrk91

echo beach wrote: »

I'm glad LCA was such a success for you but please don't write off all the mainstream schools who offer it. Some of them may well treat it as 'second class' but others don't. They offer it as an equal choice and it is ideal for student who don't learn well in the 'conventional' manner. I know students who sat it in mainstream schools with equally good outcomes, so it is a matter of checking out the school

That's certainly a fair point but like I said it was was just my own personal belief as I also know students who have sat it in a mainstream school and they did not have a great experience with it.

eviltwin

Sharrow wrote: »

That depends on the child, mine is doing the same as his classmates.

Same here. My 15 year old daughter was diagnosed with Aspergers this year and is doing the same as everyone else.

okiss

I would sit down and chat to your son. I would explain to him that the reason you want him to have the help he gets in school is that you want him to reach his potential, gets some exams and long term to have a job.
"He already telling me he's going to fail it and its like he's given up already." I feel sorry for this but he needs to know that not everyone goes to college and we are all good at different things. I would ask your son what would he like to do when he leaves school?
I know one woman who grandchild had problems similar to your son so she started to teach him about the garden, how to plant seeds ect. Her grandson loved this, got into a horticulture course and now works in this area.
I know another lady who got her son through the jc and she helped him get an apprenticeship as a mechanic which he loved. He now has a good job.
I would also look up the following website www.qualifax.ie which is the national learners database and if you look under the parents/family section you may find information in regards to what is open to your son once the jc is over. It is good that his school is so supportive and he is a lucky boy have a mother who is willing to fight and put in the effort to help him reach his potential.

Equality

He can apply for Disability Allowance. This is payable at the full rate of 188/week from age 16. The means test is based on his income, so parents income does not count. He can stay in school and still get this payment. He can also go on training courses if he is getting this payment.

wiilow74

modmo wrote: »

I have a 15 year old boy with Aspergers & ADD & ODD & Dyspraxia.
He is a great kid and has a relatively "normal" life in most things (sport, friends,gaming etc).
The problem is with school work. He has always struggled with school work and is not acedemic at all. When he was in primary he had a special needs assistant with him for 3 years and towards the end of the 3 years he hated it because it made him feel different. He also hated been taken out of the class for resource. Anything like this that was there to help him he saw it as a negatative thing because it made him feel different
Since secondary school he resource time of 5 hours a week which they use team teaching so its not so obvious. The school have been great and are trying to help us with the best way forward in order to help him. They have suggested that he avails of their Autism unit within the school which he was totally against because in this words he's "afraid of getting slagged". I can understand him because there is a stigma attached. He is mildly affected with Apergers and is not so obvious as some other AS kids are.
We agreed with the school that he could drop some subjects and he is allowed to sit in the class on the subjects he has dropped and do homework etc from other classes.
I worried because he will not accept any other kind of help (even the suggestion of grinds) that he wont do very well in his Junior Cert and this could have a devastating effect of him. He already telling me he's going to fail it and its like he's given up already.
The next worry is we think he will probably leave school after the Junior Cert. He wouldnt be able for the Leaving Cert or even the Leaving Cert applied.
So what's next a child who has special needs and maybe no qualifications?
I dont mean to sound so negatative about my son, I just worried for his future. As I said at the start, he's a great kid and has lots of wonderful qualities and we love him very much and only want the best for him. Any advice please?

Hi there , my son also has Asperger's , he is 17 and has done JC but no in 5th year and really struggling , just wondered if you have any update on how your son got on , if he tried Youthreach ect as we are looking at that option ? thanks